Between Friends
by Mahogany x Skies
Summary: [ YGO – AU – YamixMalik, MalikxRyou, BakuraxRyou ] Because nothing is ever that simple.


**Between Friends**

By: Mahogany

(One: Eyes)

Standard disclaimers apply.

_Warnings_: PG Shounen-ai (romance between two males), unadulterated teenage emotions XD, intentional fragments and run-ons.

_Summary_: (YGO – AU – Mnemo (Yami x Malik) / Angst (Malik x Ryou) / Tender (Bakura x Ryou)) Because nothing is ever that simple.

_A.N._: Okay, I admit it, I've been a bad. XD; As opposed to working on my fics, I've been suffering from some sort of odd writer's block and spending a good deal of time RPing. …Which is pretty much how this fic was started – due to the influence of one crack!YGO RP.

Rather than the one-shot I had originally planned, I think I'm going to make this an ongoing 7-chaptered fic. I will be taking several liberties with the actual YGO storyline, however, so rather than coming up with a detailed background, I'll chalk it up to AU-ness. ; Yami and Hikari's are separate entities, and the Pharaoh did _not_ leave when he regained his memories.

...I'm still not used to all the changes here at FFNet. ...It eats my brackets... ;.;

Dedicated to Usagi:D Mnemo/Angstshipping!

---

His are the eyes of which dreams are made.

A dark mahogany hue, openly accepting and painfully expressive; he sees many things, notices many more. His eyes are never harsh, never cruel; they never offer anything but polite amity. However common his eyes are in color, they are otherwise lost to the public in other attributes. Perhaps that was why those are the eyes you love.

But I still can't understand why.

Exotic. Foreign. Egyptian. Experienced. Beautiful. Mine are a dark ruby color, similar to that of the setting sun on a winter night. They offer freedom from endless nights spent underground, when you waited in vain for a past that refused to be left forgotten. I have never offered ephemeral dreams, only the warm touch of reality.

And yet, with that knowledge in mind, you continued to watch him.

"Why?"

You glanced up at me, lilac gaze tearing away from the scene playing before us. Your eyes shone brightly in the sunlight, reflecting traces of emotions I did not wish to identify. I repeated myself softly, knowing you hadn't heard. "Why do you watch him?"

Unwittingly, you stole another look towards the two men wrapped in an embrace, the younger holding on with joyful exuberance while the elder returned the affection reluctantly. With a casual roll of your shoulders, you dismissed my question. "Curiosity."

"Curiosity?" I echoed hollowly.

Ever since you had moved to Domino City with your sister, I noticed that you attributed many habits to your hunger for worldly knowledge. Some times I can not help but wonder how many more hours, days, or even weeks you must dedicate to watching Ryou Bakura, before your hunger is sated. I asked you once, but you never answered. I don't think you could have.

So I settled myself on the grassy slope of the school campus beside you. Silently, I offered my company. You didn't move away, simply rocked yourself backwards until your elbows touched the soil beneath us. The action drew a sigh from me, but you didn't seem to notice. Your gaze had moved elsewhere – up to the cloudless sky above.

I couldn't find it in myself to draw you from your contemplation, so I sat quietly, draping your silence around me like a blanket. Moments passed between us in hushed stillness. Finally, you spoke. "They make a good couple."

But the words had been spoken softly, as if it had taken every bit of your will power to coerce the words past your parted lips. Knowing how much you loved him, it probably had.

"Malik…"

You turned to stare at me, and I held your gaze for several heartbeats. Before I even knew what was being said, the words had already left me in a soft murmur. "…Yeah, they do." A quick, almost betrayed look crossed your expression, and I glanced away, a bitter taste on my tongue.

It was selfish, but I couldn't bring myself to reassure you. Not when it would give you reason to linger on. I did not want to give you false hopes. But at the same time, I did not want to hurt myself.

Swallowing, I stood to my feet. "I should go speak with Yuugi," I uttered in apology, "I promised to eat lunch with him today."

It was a lie, of course, but you accepted it anyway. I stared at my hands, quietly shuffling towards the boisterous group by the fountain.

It had been days since I last sat with them, weeks since Yuugi and I last spoke – _truly _spoke. Everything had come undone at the seams the night he pressed his lips to my own. When I told him to confess his feelings to the one he loved, I never thought it would be me.

It lasted only a few seconds, but the message was clear enough for me. I waved it off, assuming his confession was a sort of admiration held for a hero-figure. We always spoke, always shared our secrets. I didn't think that something like love could come between us. But before long, he no longer came to me with his problems, no longer sat beside me as we worked on our homework. I was no longer his darkness, even though he was still my Aibou, my light.

That was when you came.

"Hey, Yami!"

I glanced up, offering the group a small grin as I seated myself by Yuugi. Perhaps it was inadvertent, but he instantly scooted to the side. I'd like to say that it was his considerate nature giving me more space on the bench, but I knew better.

And I didn't want that to happen to us.

So I kept silent.

The conversation at the table resumed, but I didn't even make an effort to offer my input, my attention having wandered elsewhere.

Did you know, Malik, that while some held their hearts out on their sleeves, you held yours in your eyes?

The very same eyes you watched him with.

I knew because mine watched you.

---

"You waited for me."

Hands stilling from the task of idly tearing grass blades, I turned to face you. A peculiar expression lingered on your face, one that seemed a cross between haunted and incredulous.

It worried me, more so than the words you spoke.

"Your sister would skin me alive if I allowed you to get lost in the city again," I said simply.

You scoffed softly. "It's only the arcade, Pharaoh."

Even now, two years following the events of Battle City, you refused to call me by my name. I would have been bothered if the nickname didn't sound so much like an endearment. It was the only thing you gave me that I could truly call my own.

"One can never be too cautious."

This time, you rolled your eyes, hands clasping behind your head. "You're just being paranoid in your old age."

I raised my chin haughtily. "3,000-something is still young, I'll have you know."

"And 17? What would you call _that_?" you asked sarcastically.

Smirk tugging at my lips, I drawled, "Inexperienced."

I didn't need to glance over to see the indignant toss of your hair, nor the way you uttered "Old fart of a Pharaoh" as you strode off.

"Wrong direction," I called out.

Without so much as a word, you turned on your heel in the other direction and flipped me off. I chuckled and followed.

Three-thousand years meant nothing compared to this.

It was for these moments that I lived.

---

We were celebrating Ryou's birthday at the arcade, and even though you still did not get along well with the group, it did little to discourage you from joining in the foray.

"Do you think he'll like the journal I bought him?" you questioned. I would have had to be blind not to notice how your very world seemed to hang on my answer. I cherished it, even though it wasn't meant for me.

"Why wouldn't he?" I returned, ignoring the urge buried deep within me to mumble about how the heart of the cards would never lead one astray.

You smirked, glancing away in search of the birthday boy. "Heart of the cards, or some such drivel?"

I threw a mock scowl in your direction, but you didn't notice, busy staring elsewhere. Curiously, I followed the direction of your gaze with my own.

It didn't take long to find the one source that could capture your attention. Pale, white tresses. Lithe, nimble limbs. And a very familiar pair of lips attached to the base of his throat in a most inappropriate fashion. It was Ryou and Bakura, entangled, once more.

"Malik, I-" I stopped, trailing off when you thrust the neatly wrapped gift in my hands. The guarded look in your eyes spoke volumes.

"Something came up. Give this to him for me, all right?" And without another word, you turned to leave.

I stayed rooted to the ground, staring with hooded eyes after your shadow. My stomach lurched to my throat, and I bit down harshly on my bottom lip.

You never could pretend as well as me.

---

_A.N_: scrunches nose Bah... That didn't exactly turn out to my liking, but... oh, well. Something else to add to my ever growing list of 'things to revisit.' XD; Anywaay... I have to go off to work in like 10 minutes, so that's all, folks.


End file.
